Joined: 12/31/69
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2112gchild.html
Can you even imagine? I am stunned as to the conditions in which Genie lived. It absolutely breaks my heart.
Try this link; the article isn't as good, but its the same story.
Updated On: 4/11/08 at 01:42 PM
Your link doesn't go anywhere.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
What brought this up?
Fascinating story, and heartbreaking.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
Oops! I tried a different one.
Husk: I'm playing Rapunzel in INTO THE WOODS right now, and StageManager2 and I were discussing how she's almost feral, living in a tower for 14 years. Stahey brough this story to my attention, and I though it was fascinating and horrible. I wanted to share.
Updated On: 4/11/08 at 01:49 PM
Broadway Star Joined: 11/3/07
We read about her in sociology.
Very sad =(
Here's the Nova special on YouTube.
Genie: The Wild Child Part 1
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4I5mZIFxSlk
Genie: The Wild Child Part 2
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sdyKYwH5yJk&feature=related
Genie: The Wild Child Part 3
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XX-HH7ufJio&feature=related
Genie: The Wild Child Part 4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3Qk_HwbEKl4&feature=related
Genie: The Wild Child Part 5
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YyS2ofyQw8M&feature=related
Genie: The Wild Child Part 6
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mh6FFOXqVJA&feature=related
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
They started the special with the opening chords of the "To Kill a Mockingbird" theme. My heart was lost before I even saw her sad story!
I've got to say that those well-meaning specialists angered me more than I can say. Deciding to play the role of parent but ONLY during the course of the research was as cruel as the life she'd led before they found her. That child, that HUMAN, needed security and support from people who loved her. They deserted her when she was no longer valuable for research and that was absolutely terrible.
I was wondering what that music was, Mamie. Thanks! It makes sense. There's a movie based on this case called MOCKINGBIRD DON'T SING.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
I agree, Mamie. Its tragic. She's a human being, not some test subject. What she needed was guidance and love and hope. The tests were pointless, and unnecessary to her own well being.
Mamie yes! I was extremely upset with the researchers and feel very much that they are just as guilty of child abuse as the Father who killed himself! Once the grant money ran out and interest in the child faded we saw the real faces of the so called "I loved her like my own child" researchers!
For any of you reading this... you must see Francois Truffaut's brilliant movie from the '70s called "The Wild Child."
I saw it as a child, and it has stayed with me ever since.
Her mother put her back into foster care and THEN sued the doctors? So, what, the money could go towards HER OWN "emotional distress" while her impaired daughter is being shuffled around as a ward of the state?! Ugh. They should have arrested her for child abuse all over again.
Exactly my thoughts Orangeskittles. I was shocked that she was allowed to go back to her mother in the first place, but then that the mother used her to sue the doctors? Just despicable. I am just hoping that the settlement money is being used to support her now in the adult living facility they talked about.
I think the researcher at the end made a very good point about this being such a unique case that mistakes were bound to happen. Here you had a chance to research something you never could nor ever would set up as an experiment. And yet, you had to consider that this was a young girl and what was best for her well being. It was sad that they couldn't find someone to be a more permanent foster parent for her, and I feel, even sadder that she was eventually sent back to her mother.
This is also interesting:
http://www.feralchildren.com/en/index.php
Videos